Tobacco harvester trailer



g- 1965 w. A. MISH, JR 3,199,687

TOBACCO HARVESTER TRAILER Filed April 18, 1963 wumamumnum mm nu mum l\Illlllllllllll|IllIlllIIllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllfll all ATTORNEYS g- 1965 w. A. MISH, JR 3,199,687

TOBACCO HARVESTER TRAILER Filed April 18, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 a no In 0 .9 Q fi .o v a m m Q (Q 1i "3 d 2 v LI. 2 gm m :0

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INVENTOR William A. Mish,Jr.

BY 79M M M ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1965 w. A. MISH, JR

TOBACCO HARVESTER TRAILER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 18, 1963 9.00000 ooonuOcOcooc INVENTOR William A. Mish,Jr

ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1965 w. A. MISH, JR

TOBACCO HARVESTER TRAILER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 18, 1963 INVENTOR William A.Mish,Jr.

BY M (973W ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1965 Filed April 18, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.5.

INVENTOR William A. Mish,Jr.

BY M WVGM ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,199,687 TSBAECO HARVESTER TRAILER William A. Misti, 512, R0. Box 264, Wash ngton, N

Filed Apr. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 274,011 6 (llairns. (Qt. 2145.5)

The present invention relates generally to tobacco harvester apparatus and more particularly to a simplified trailer harvester movab.e along rows of growing tobacco to facilitate economical picking and hauling of the picked tobacco and for providing complete and final preparation of the tobacco in the field for transfer directly to the curing barn, and is a continuation-in-part of my prior copending application Serial Number 129,706 for A Tobacco Harvester, filed August 7, 1961, now Fatent No. 3,107,013.

Producing the better types of tobacco requires considerable skill on the part of the farmer as he himself must grow the tobacco properly, pick it, handle it expertly and cure the tobacco and accordingly an object of this invention is to provide a tobacco trailer harvester adapted to assist the skilled tobacco farmer to accomplish the expeditious picking and handling of the tobacco for attaining maximum eificiency for direct transfer to the curing barn from the tobacco field With a minimum amount of labor and with dependable compactly organized field equipment.

Briefly, this invention relates to compactly organized field equipment in the form of a tobacco harvester trailer adapted to be tractor drawn or made mobile in any suitable manner, said tobacco harvester having a main supporting platform sufiiciently broad and long to accommodate the following equipment.

(I) A tobacco table for a stick loader;

(2) A revolving seat for an expert tobacco handler in front of the table;

(3) A rear pallet handling arrangement for transfer of sticks loaded with tobacco from the field to the curing barn;

(4) Receiving tables for the tobacco on each side of the harvester in easy reach of both the primers or pickers and the stick loader;

Novelly mounted and arranged outrig er workmen seats fold-able inboard or outboard, which seats are flexibly mounted and adjustable to facilitate picker optimum position with respect to the tobacco row (6) An upper level tobacco leaf receiving platform means for use when the seats are removed from the harvester to provide for pickers choice of walking; and

(7) A foldable weather protective canopy or cover for the complete harvester which is for road travel betweel tobacco fields or for shelter storage.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims, it being understood that I do not intend to limit the same to the details of such construction, arrangement and combinations.

In the drawings like parts throughout the several views are given like reference characters and are thus identified in the following detailed description:

FIGURE 1 is a rear perspective view of the trailer harvester with the sun protective top and outrigger seats folded inboard for highway travel, field to field travel or for storage in a shelter when not in use;

FIGURE 2 is a rear perspective view of the trailer harvester with the sun protective top and outrigger seats unfolded to outboard operating position for movement along the rows of growing tobacco;

FIGURE 3 a side elevation view of the present novel trailer harvester illustrating in dotted lines the substantially Patented l6, F355 universal movements of the movable outrigger seat frames, the tobacco table on the trailer and the pallet handling means;

FEGURE 4 is a top elevational plan view of the hatvester trailer with the Weather protective roof or cover removed illustrating the inboard and outboard positions of the workman outrigger seats and the seat position controlling foot rests therefor on each side of the trailer;

FIGURE 5 is a top skeleton view of the trailer frame or chassis showing substantially all parts removed there from, including removal of the platform portion, to thereby clearly show the simplicity of the trailer structure;

FIGURE 6 is a top view showing the platform on the 'ailer frame along with the trailer wheel covering platforms and the pallet lift means at the rear of the frame;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation view of the outrigger seat position control connections which lead from the foot rest means shown in top plan elevation in FIGURE 4; and

FlGURE 8 is a fragmentary cross section view taken on me 83 of FIGURE 4 of the front edge portion of a obacco stick loading table mounted on the trailer platform tor the final tobacco handling preparatory to transfer to the pellets and thence to the cure sheds or barns.

Referring in detail to the drawings and first with particaler reference to the several views of the novel trailer harvester as depicted in FIGURES 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, there is shown a trailer with a simplified chassis frame A, see FIG 5 and 6. On this frame is a platform B rected in width at the rear portion 10 and widened at the front portion 11 in the form of a large T. A draft tongue 12 extends from the center of the relatively wider front portion ll and has a draft coupler 14 for coupling with a tractor 15 when desired.

Axles l5 and 17 are suitably positioned at the intermediate side portions of the rear portion ll of the chassis frame A below the platform l3 and extend laterally too rotatably support ground wheels 13 and 19 at each side of the trailer. Preferably these wheels are provided with rubber tires although any form of mud-cleat type Wheel may be used.

Mud guards 2?. and 22 are mounted over each respective ground wheel 13 and 19 and supported on each mud guard is a table 23 and 2d, respectively. Each of the tables 23 and 24 have fore and aft end baffles 25 and 26, respectively, to thereby confine the picked tobacco leaves L as they are placed upon the tables by the primers or pickers riding on the adjacent outrigger seats 23 and 29, see FIGURE 4. Centrally positioned on the platform portion 19 between the wheel tables is a pedestal supported seat 3%, which seat is adapted to swivel or rotate on the pedestal at the will of the occupant, see FIGURE 3.

The OCCtl'zJZ. the seat may be termed the stick operator, FiGURE 2. For example, as the primers pick the leaves and place them on the wheel tables 23 and stick rator picks up the leaves, swivels the seat so as to race the front portion ll of the platform and places the leaves L across the prone lower section as of an opened tobacco stick 32 supported in a tobacco stick cradle 35 in the front edge of a tobacco handling table One form of such tobacco stick is shown in my copending application Serial Number 155,955, filed November 27, 1961, and a tobacco table such as may be used is shown in my co-pending application Serial Number 150,922, filed November 8, 1961, now Patent No. 3,107,- 792.

The stick loader places the tobacco leaves L uniformly along the prone horizontal member 36 of the stick 32. with stems 37 resting against an adjustable stem stop 38 at the front edge of the cradle 35 of the tobacco table 3 see FIGURE 8. The stem stop 33 comprises an L- sh-,ped member or angle iron with a handle 39 secured to a head plate 4%, which plate 4% is secured to slide bars SEO 42 projecting through an opening in one or more guide blocks 44. The blocks are secured to arms 46 which extend below the table edge. Supported on the guide blocks 44 is a support plate on which rests the lower portion 36 of a tobacco stick being loaded in such a manner that the top of the table 34 and the top of the prone stick member 36 are substantially level with each other to permit the leaves L to rest uniformly on the stick and on the table top at the edge, as shown in FEGURE 8. The stop 38 may be moved to the dotted line position, as shown, and may be held to any adjusted position by set screw 49 in either of the respective guide blocks 44.

When the tobacco stick is loaded the same is closed together to hold the tobacco leaves and the stick is removed from the stick cradle at the table edge and the loader swings around on the swivel seat and places the loaded stick of tobacco on a pallet 50 supported by the tines 52 of a lift fork hinged at 51 slightly below the rear edge of the rear platform portion 11, see FIGURE 1. The fork is raised and lowered by means of cables 53 on a winding shaft journalled in the trailer frame and manually turnable by a crank 55, see FIGURE 1. Then the stick loader turns back to the stick loading position again facing the loading table, takes another stick from one of a pair of portable tobacco stick bins 56 and 57 on each side of the enlarged portion 11 of the trailer platform, see FIGURE 6, places it in the loading cradle 35 at the table edge and loads this newly placed stick 32 for the pallet 50.

The optimum operation of the stick loader may be greatly speeded up and controlled in proportion to the speed of the pickers or primers. Thus, as the operation starts the trailer harvester be ins its travel along the growing rows of tobacco at a predetermined optimum speed and the pickers place hand-full after hand-full of green tobacco leaves L on the wheel tables 23 and 24. As the leaves accumulate on the tables, the stick loader picks them up and places them across the lower tobacco stick member 36 which is in prone position in the table loading cradle 35. The speed of picking is made fast and eflicient due to the novel universally movable mountings provided for the worker or picker outrigger seats 23 and 29 on each side of the trailer.

Each of the seats 28 and 29 is secured to a U-shaped support 62 formed from hollow metal tubes and the ends of the legs of the U-support are bifurcated and pivot on a pin 64 to hollow pipe fore and aft hanger arms 65 and 66 to provide flexible couplings 69 and 61. Each seat is provided with an associated seat back 58 and 59 fastened to the aft leg of the U-shaped seat frame 62. The ends of the hanger arms are formed with a fiat surface 68 having an opening to receive the eyelet end 69 of an eyebolt 70 swivelled in an opening in a laterally extending frame bar 72 pivoted to a vertical bolt 73 in the legs of a U-strip 74 fixed to one of four uprights, namely upright 76 supported in a socket '78 in a corner of the portion of the trailer platform, see FIGURE 7 and similar upright members 82, 83 and 84 which are supported in similar sockets 79, 80 and 31 at each of the remaining corners of the trailer platform.

Since the outrigger seats 28 and 29 and their mountings are identical on each side of the trailer, a detailed description of one of the seats and its specific mounting only will be given. Thus the aforesaid fore and aft hanger arms 65 and 66 each connect at their respective flat end portions to the pivoted laterally extensible fore and aft frame bars 72 and S5. The bar 85 pivots on a vertical pin or bolt 73 in the legs of a U-strap 86 fixed to upright 84 in the same manner as the frame bar 72. However, frame bar 72 from its free end is formed with vertical openings 87, 88, 89, 9t), 91 and 91a. As above described opening 89 receives the shank of an eye-bolt 70 from which the arm 65 depends and openings 88 and 99, for example, on opposite dies of the eye-bolt 71) receive the shanks of eye-bolts 92 and83, Secured in the eyes of the bolts 92 and 93 are the ends of seat positioning cables Ill-i) and 191, which thread from side openings 95 and 96 in the aft arm 65 from connection with spaced eyebolts 162 and 163 on foot rest 1114 horizontally pivoted on a vertical bolt or pin 195 in the base of the U-shaped seat frame and positioned in advance of the seat 61. Each foot rest is preferably a horizontally pivoted flat bar and is adjnstably mounted with respect to its associated seat by movement of the vertical pivot bolt into a selected one of the spaced holes 156 formed in the base of the U-shaped seat frame, see FIGURE 4. The cables 1% and 161 pay off from the eye-bolts 92 and 93 and reeve or pass into side openings 168 and 1% into the bore of the tube means forming the U-shaped seat frame. Thus with this arrangement forward push on the foot rest by a worker in the seat 28 or 29 with the left or right foot will impart a lateral or side swing to position or in effect steer the seat frame with respect to a row of growing tobacco, since such action results in tension on one cable and a release of tension on the other.

As above described, the U-shaped seat supports or brackets for outrigger seats 28 and 29 are not only laterally steerable by the cables 11%) and 161 with respect to the sides of the trailer, but they are also pivoted at the flexible couplings 60 and 61 from the hanger arms 65 and 66, for example, so as to be flexible in a forward or backward movement should the seat strike against an obstruction in the field, or strike a rise in the ground surface. Thus, the seat frames with their respective seats have a versatile movement which may be substantially universal when necessary.

Each upright '76, 82, 83 and 84 has a bifurcated end and connects by bolt means 112 to a main skeleton frame which provides a weather protective top when the frame is covered by a sheet of canvas or other suitable flexible material M. The frame may be rectangular and is formed with an apex forming longitudinal top bar 112 and spaced longitudinal bars 114 and 116 and 117 and 118 on each angularly slanting side of the frame from the apex bar 112. Transverse laterally extending bars 120, 121, 122 and 123 connect with the longitudinal bars 114, 116, 117 and 118 and the lower side bars 116 and 118 of the skeleton frame top extend slightly beyond each side of the trailer.

Outrigger reactions 125 and 127 having transverse bars 128, 129, 130 and 131 with fastener means, such as strap loops 134, 135, 13-6 and 137 pivotally connect to the extended side bars 116 and 118 of the top main frame. These outrigger side sections 125 and 127 preferably rectangular may be folded inboard toward the sides of the trailer or they may be swung upwardly about their respective pivot connections 134, 135, 136 and 137 on the extended side bars 116 and 118, so as to provide a protective cover for the outrigger seats 28 and 29 carried by their respective support arms 72 and 85. These arms 72 and 85 each include angularly sloping guy bars 140 and 141 fixed at one end to the arms 72 and 85 and pivoted on a vertical hinger pin 144 in a U-strap pivoted to the top of each upright at each side of the trailer Vertically above the similar U-strap and vertical hinge pin 144 for each of the respective arms 72 and 85 in the provision of horizontally pivoted triangular brackets.

The U-straps 74 and 145 and vertical hinge pin 73 and 144 of the seat support arms 72 and 85 permit the outrigger seats 23 and 29 to be swung inboard to a folded position at the side of the trailer when released from V- clamps 143 and 144 carried by the outrigger side sections 125 and 127, see FTGURE 7.

Also in FIGURE 1 the outrigger side sections 125 and 127 and the outrigger seats are shown folded inboard for highway travel, field-toield transfer or for storage in a shelter or enclosure.

FlGURE 4 of the drawings clearly illustrates the positions of the outrigger seats 28 and 29 and their respective mountings in solid lines for the outboard positions and in dotted lines for the folded inboard positions.

The present novel harvester trailer is further provided with a pair of tubular sockets 148 and 143 on each side of the trailer frame. These sockets receive the tubular legs 150 and 151, respectively, of the stick loading table 34, which table swings upward when not in use to provide more space on the platform and to facilitate loading the stick bins 56 and 57, see FIGURE 3. The legs 150 and 151 are foldable under the top on pins when the table is raised to inoperative position.

In addition to the trailer Wheel platforms 23 and 24, there is provided an upper level table 155 suitably secured above the loading table top 34. This table 155 may be used instead of the wheel tables 23 and 24 if the outrigger seats 28 and 29 are not used. For example, if walking is preferred after the leaf picking area has grown high enough on the tobacco stalk to allow up-right standing. In this operation the pickers place the leaves as they are picked on the upper level table 155 of the loading table in front of the operator. The upper level table keeps the surplus tobacco being placed thereon by the picker, out of the Way of the tobacco being loaded on the tobacco stick 32 from the lower level at 34. Thus the operator reaches to the upper level table 155 and draws the leaves to the lower table 34 across the prone section 36 of the stick and bumps the stem ends of the leaves against the stem stop 38, as shown in FIGURE 8.

Thus there is provided a compactly equipped trailer for harvesting tobacco, which combines the pickers equipment with the handlers and stick loaders equipment, so the picked green tobacco leaves are picked, handled and loaded at the site of the growing tobacco and may be transferred to the curing barn without further work.

Without further description and drawing details, it is believed that the foregoing description and accompanying drawings are sufficiently clear for others skilled in the art to understand this invention and to become aware of the many advantages and the great efficiency in use provided by the present novel compactly organized harvester trailer.

For a definition of the scope of this invention, reference should be had to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A trailer for harvesting and loading green tobacco leaves for transfer by tobacco pickers in the field from trailer suspended outrigger seats to a curing location comprising a chassis frame, a platform on said chassis frame, said platform being so shaped and so proportioned as to provide a restricted aft portion and a fore portion relatively Wider than said aft portion, ground wheels on each side of said aft portion, a swivel seat at the front of said aft portion adjacent the said fore portion of the platform, tobacco receiving tables mounted over each of said wheels on each side of said swivel seat, an upwardly extending framework having lateral elevated side portions above said platform, outrigger workman seats suspended from said lateral side portions of said upwardly extending framework, said tables on the inboard sides being within reach of the tobacco collecting occupant of said swivel seat on the outboard sides and adjacent to each of said outrigger seats, and baffle means at the fore and aft ends of each respective table adjacent each outrigger seat, to thereby retain the green picked tobacco leaves on the tables until removed therefrom by an occupant of said swivel seat during an approximate 180 degree turning movement of the said seat alternately between the respective oppositely positioned inboard sides of the tables to and from said respective tables.

2. A trailer for harvesting and loading green picked tobacco leaves for transfer to a curing location comprising a chassis frame, a platform on said chassis frame, said platform being so shaped and so proportioned as to provide a restricted aft portion and a fore portion relatively wider than said aft portion, ground wheels on each side of said aft portion, and a swivel seat at the front of said aft portion adjacent the said fore portion of the platform, tobacco receiving tables mounted over each of said wheels on each side of said swivel seat, an upwardlyextending frame work having lateral side portions above said platform, outrigger workman seats suspended from said lateral side portions of said upwardly extending framework, said tables on the inboard sides being within convenient reach of the tobacco collecting occupant of said swivel seat on the inboard sides and adjacent to each of said outrigger seats, said platform being T-shaped, and a stick loading table supported on said head portion of the T-shaped platform, said table having a stick loading cradle at the edge of the table within reach of the occupant of the swivel seat.

3. A tobacco trailer, comprising a wheel supported chassis to be moved along spaced rows of growing tobacco, said trailer chassis having a supporting platform, wheels on each side of the platform, said platform being sufficiently wide and long to accommodate an organized arrangement of tobacco handling equipment including a tobacco stick loading table at the front end of the platform, a revolving seat on the platform in front of the table, a pallet handling hoist at the rear of the platform for receiving loaded sticks of tobacco from the loading table, bracket means extending to each side of the trailer, outrigger row traversing seats suspended from the said brackets at each side of the trailer, and tobacco receiving tables having inboard and outboard sides, said tables being supported on each side of the platform for expediting transfer of picked tobacco by the respective occupants of the said outrigger seats to the said receiving tables, said inboard sides of the said tables being adjacent opposite sides of said revolvable seat, whereby a tobacco stick loader occupying the revolvable seat in front of the loading table may alternately turn from one receiving table to the other for transfer of picked tobacco to the stick loading table.

4. A tobacco trailer, comprising a wheel supported chassis to be moved along spaced rows of growing tobacco, said trailer chassis having a supporting platform, wheels on each side of the platform, said platform being suficiently wide and long to accommodate an organized arrangement of tobacco handling equipment including a tobacco stick loading table at the front end of the platform, a revolving seat on the platform in front of the table, a pallet handling hoist at the rear of the platform for receiving loaded sticks of tobacco from the loading table, bracket means extending to each side of the trailer, outrigger row traversing seats suspended from the said brackets at each side of the trailer, and tobacco receiving tables having inboard and outboard sides, said tables being supported on each side of the platform for expediting transfer of picked tobacco by the occupants of the outrigger seats to the tobacco stick loader occupying the revolving seat in front of the table, foot rests for the occupant of each outrigger seat, and seat positioning means connected with each foot rest and seat mounting to move said seat to left or right of a row of growing tobacco being picked.

5. A tobacco harvester trailer with ground engaging traction means, a draft tongue and coupler for tractor coupling, said tobacco harvester trailer having a main supporting platform sufficiently broad and long to accommodate the following equipment; said equipment comprising:

(1) a tobacco table for a stick loader,

(II) a revolving seat for a stick loader in front of the table,

(III) receiving tables having respective inboard and outboard sides for the picked tobacco on each side of the trailer in easy reach of the pickers and of a stick loader on the revolving seat,

(IV) flexible mounted detachable outrigger tobacco r 7 t picker seats foldable inboard and outboard of the trailer platform, said seats being flexibly mounted and adjustable to facilitate picker position with respect of the rows of growing tobacco,

(V) an upper level receiving platform means for use by the pickers and the said stick loader when the detachable outrigger seats are removed from the harvester, and

(VI) a rear pallet handling arrangement at the rear of the main trailer platform to receive and transfer tobacco loaded sticks onto a carrier for conveyance from the field to the curing barn.

6. In a tobacco harvester trailer, a supporting frame, side outrigger seats, each of said seats being secured to a U-shaped support, said support being flexibly suspended fore and aft of the trailer from hanger arms, each seat having a back and a foot rest secured in the U-shaped support, and a pair of spaced laterally extending brackets, said hanger arms being suspended from said laterally extending spaced apart brackets pivoted to each side of the trailer supporting frame, said brackets being horizontally swingable to and from the side of the trailer, to thereby fold said outrigger seats to inboard inoperative position or to outboard operative position, said supporting frame including a main top frame and side-outrigger frames being secured to each lower edge of the main top frame, said main and outrigger frames being covered to provide a weather protective cover for said trailer, said side outrigger frames having clamp means, said clamp means being adapted to clamp to said outrigger seat brackets when the same are in their re 'spective laterally extended position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Examiner. 

1. A TRAILER FOR HARVESTING AND LOADING GREEN TOBACCO LEAVES FOR TRANSFER BY TOBACCO PICKERS IN THE FIELD FROM TRAILER SUSPENDED OUTRIGGER SEATS TO A CURING LOCATION COMPRISING A CHASSIS FRAME, A PLATFORM ON SAID CHASSIS FRAME, SAID PLATFORM BEING SO SHAPED AND SO PROPORTIONED AS TO PROIDE A RESTRICTED AFT PORTION AND A FORE PORTION RELATIVELY WIDER THAN SAID AFT PORTION, GROUND WHEELS ON EACH SIDE OF SAID AFT PORTION, A SWIVEL SEAT AT THE FRONT OF SAID AFT PORTION ADJACENT THE SAID FOR THE PORTION OF THE PLATFORM, TOBACCO RECEIVING TABLES OUNTED OVER EACH OF SAID WHEELS ON EACH SIDE OF SAID SWIVEL SEAT, AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING FRAMEWORK HAVING LATERAL ELEVATED SIDE PORTIONS ABOVE SAID PLATFORM, OUTRIGGER WORKMAN SEATS SUSPENDED FROM SAID LATERAL SIDE PORTIONS OF SAID UPWARDLY EXTENDING 